Democracy Dies in Darkness

The right way to reopen the economy

Going back to work after the coronavirus lockdown isn’t political — and the sooner we can do so safely, the better. Let’s stop politicizing the conversation and start thinking about what we can do to protect Americans and restart the economy.

Perspective by
April 22, 2020 at 10:09 a.m. EDT
The empty Capital Wheel is reflected in the window of McLoone's Pier House at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. All businesses there have been either closed or temporarily closed since the pandemic started. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

As they have on most issues, President Trump and Fox Nation have managed to politicize and polarize the debate over how and when to begin returning to normal life, denouncing all restrictions on individual liberty as a threat to the American way of life.

And as they have on most issues, liberal Democrats and their favorite media outlets have taken the bait, characterizing any loosening of stay-at-home orders as a rejection of science and a capitulation of the capitalist impulse to put making money over saving lives.